Injured Barcelona captain to return to normal training on Monday | OneFootball

FC Barcelona prepared for their pivotal La Liga encounter against Atletico Madrid with some fitness boost as both Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde trained normally with the group today.

In addition to them, Eric Garcia will also be available for the trip to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano for Saturday night’s game.

However, Frenkie de Jong was once again absent from group training, as he continued his recovery from a hamstring injury he sustained in late February.

De Jong’s training return on Monday

Now, according to Mundo Deportivo, De Jong will resume normal training with the rest of the Barcelona group on Monday.

This comes after Hansi Flick confirmed during his press conference that the Dutchman will not be ready for tomorrow’s trip to the Spanish capital and will only be back next week.

De Jong to resume normal training on Monday. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

“The good news is that Balde and Kounde are back, as is Eric. In Frenkie’s case, we’ll have to wait a little longer; perhaps he can start training next week. We’ll take it one step at a time,” he stated.

De Jong continued to work inside the gym today, away from the rest of the group, and has yet to set foot on the pitch.

But, as per the report, the expectation is that he would be ready to resume normal training on Monday, in time for Barça’s next face-off against Atletico Madrid, this time in the UEFA Champions League.

The Catalans host Diego Simeone’s men next Wednesday in the first leg of their UCL quarterfinal tie. And if everything goes according to plan, De Jong could be available for that crunch encounter.

Until he returns, Marc Bernal is likely to continue as Pedri’s partner in the Barcelona midfield unit, with the teenage prodigy exhibiting fine form before the international break.